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[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - So Hungry Part II


This is a quote from effects supervisor, Greg Nicotero from KNB FX (the same company that does the ghoul effects for AMC's series, "The Walking Dead").

George came up with a brilliant idea that I thought was just amazing. We shot zombie elements on green of just zombies walking past the camera. So, instead of having to trim an effect right down to the bare minimum he could, if need be, stick a zombie cross right in front of the camera digitally so that the zombie would obscure the effect just enough to make it less offensive. I thought that was a brilliant idea because then for the unrated cut you just remove that element and you got the big gag in all its glory.

C'mon, animatronic puppets and real people in make-up were used for the effects. The limited CGI is a non-issue.

Another quote from Nicotero:

We're doing a lot of puppet heads; we're doing a lot of mechanical zombies. We're planning on doing a lot of stuff involving rig removal, where there will be guys puppeteering full body zombies, and we'll erase the puppeteers out of the shot so that you don't have to have digital zombies. You'll have a live zombie there, operated by guys - similar to the way that it was done in Army Of Darkness, except that was prior to the rig removal concept.

Another issue; Kaufman's suitcase - full of cash, he took with him towards the finale. Why was money still being used? This bugged the hell out of me - no like that; folks NOT connecting the dots.

The tower was one of many safe zones humanity retook and fortified - society continues in inside. The basic need to buy, you need some kind of currency. It's not that unbelievable when you think about it.



The paramount complaints rests on one character, Big Daddy (Eugene Clark), the zombie. Many were upset with this suppose break in 'Dead' continuity because Big Daddy developed higher thinking/reasoning. Look, he is still an idiot, but King Idiot. The move is not in conflict with the franchise.

The first film had a ghoul (cemetery) using a rock as a tool to break the car's driver side window to get at Barbra. In "Day", Dr. Logan (Richard Liberty) was training Bub (Sherman Howard) to use objects and be docile. In "Dawn" there was that zombie who was far more interested in Flyboy's rifle than the living people behind the glass doors of JC Penny - in fact he carries that gun for the rest of the film.

Not so far out - given enough time, I do believe he would figure out how to shoot; won't have much aim, but he would be able to fire... just like Bub.

What is not realized is that the world belongs to the Dead. It is at best, a few hundred thousand living people on the planet, no more than that. And those are behind reinforced defenses.

What happens to the dead when there is no one to devour (very slow to decay)? They just linger about, then what? They're left to their own devices, fragments of memory to pass the time, as I wrote - no prey to hunt. They are left with bits of recognition (just as Bud gave that unrequested salute to Rhodes [Joseph Pilato]).

Look it it this way. We've all had times where we've tried to remember the name of a song or movie, can't quite recall. Frack it, I have other things to do and move on. But these things don't - nothing is going on; for days, weeks or even months. That tiny thought will linger and linger until the right synapse fires, a connection made.

It makes total sense that after X amount of time alone they start act on those memories. They're still imbecile versions of who they were, no changing that. But now they're more deadlier - using simple tools (and not that well).

Why is that an issue? As I wrote, Big Daddy is still a meat-head, a dog is probably smarter then he. But he's now more dangerous with that few additional digits of IQ.

By the end of the film they were no longer interested in the fireworks that had been used to distract them. The undead recaptured a bit of their selves. And that should be a scary. It's easier to think of them as mindless masses, not something that could open a closed door trying to get to your tasty warm flesh.

Something I didn't realize until researching; Eugene Clark was in the The CW series, "The L.A. Complex" (2012) as Walter Dougan. The complete series is on DVD.

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The original script ended atop Fiddler's Green, the ghouls mobbing into the building. The remaining living board a helicopter (like the fall of Saigon), somehow the pilot is bitten and/or shot at, the helicopter crashes into a nearby building.

A bleak ending, which was like the conceived ending for "Dawn Of The Dead" ('78). Okay sure, in that unfilmed(?) version (still under dispute); Peter (Ken Foree) didn't make it out (suicide), leaving Francine completely alone. She decide to opt out and stands up on the moving helicopter blades, decapitating herself. The dead surround her and consume. The end credits roll, the final moment is shown, the motor sputter and stop. The chopper couldn't have gotten far anyway, low fuel.

Why not?

A bit more from the unproduced screenplay. It was Riley (Simon Baker) who was trying to buy his way into Fiddler's Green instead of Cholo (Leguizamo). Riley was secretly dating Kaufman's daughter. Cholo once again steals Dead Reckoning, threatening to destroy the sanctuary unless his terms are met. Kaufman (Dennis Hopper) makes a deal with Riley allowing him to move into the tower if he stops Cholo and crew. As with the movie, Riley and his friend Charlie (Robert Joy) are given soldiers for support, but it is unclear if they can be trusted.

The whole idea for Fiddler's Green has been gestating since the mid '90s.



A bit of the concept was talked about on the commentary for the 1996 special edition Laser Disc box set, "Dawn Of The Dead: Special CAV Collector's Edition - Director's Cut" (from Elite Entertainment; the Director's Cut is actually the Extended version of the film, a.k.a. "Cannes Film Festival" cut).

It was a three disc CAV set; streeted December 24th for $99.95.

We have holed ourselves in safety, life continued as usual, the dead were now a nuisance than a real threat. It was our complacency that was our undoing.

By the way, that LD commentary (Romero, Christine Romero, Tom Savini and Buster [Romero family dog]) is exclusive to that dead format.



It's too bad that "Land Of The Dead" didn't do well enough. Romero and crew were planning a new trilogy based on this installment. It never happened, instead he decided to reboot the whole situation with "Diary Of The Dead" (2007).

Should be noted that in November of 2005 it was report that due to strong sale in Europe and Japan, a sequel had been green lit. It focused on the surviving characters, Slack (Asia Argento) included - inside "Dead Reckoning".

It ended with our heroes on their way to Canada after the massacre at Fiddler's Green.

Don't know if a treatment of that adventure was written.

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I do like the design of Dead Reckoning (which by the way was the film's original title). I like the fact that it didn't look brand new. It was assembled with various found pieces. A functional, real world based armored, offensive transport. This puppy is the tank I want, should I find myself in a undead world.

Do have complaints. We're lacking an important program from the special features; "Dream Of The Dead: George Romero" an IFC half hour, behind-the-scenes special that aired on June 15th, 2005 (was suppose to have aired June 12th, but didn't). It has yet to be released on any home video format. The documentary was by Roy Frumkes. For Romero fans the name is known. YES.

Frumkes was a teacher at School Of Visual Arts in New York in the 1970s. In 1977 - he wanted to make something for his students to see - the inner working of shooting a movie. Two possiblities that were to his liking, complex filming; Earl Owensby's "Wolfman" (1979) or George A. Romero's "Dawn Of The Dead" (1978). He chose Romero. This became known as "Document Of The Dead" shown exclusively to his students for quite some time until released on VHS in 1988.

Got a grant for filming, seven grand and shot on set - interviews; cast, director and effects master, Tom Savini plus just watching them filming various scenes at the mall when it raided by the biker gang. This was at a time when this did not happen, he made fanboys jaws drop. Unknown at the time, he recorded the making of an iconic horror classic. So here we were in 2005 and he went back to Romero to witness him filming the fourth installment of his franchise decades later. WERE IS IT?! The half hour doc should've been a given.

Second, I wish the film was longer. The theatrical cut clocks at ninety-three minutes, four minutes longer on Unrated. I wish this was two hours long. The extra time not so much about ghouls attacking, but life at the tower and the lives of the people on the streets below, that would be fascinating. The deleted scenes do cover some of the ground level life, but it's brief.